Private schools in Chandigarh can now collect fees

The Chandigarh Education Department has directed all the private schools in the city to collect only tuition fees from parents on a monthly basis.

The Chandigarh Education Department has issued an order according to which the private schools in the city can collect their tuition fees on a monthly basis.

The move comes at a time when 60 schools in the city have not uploaded the mandatory balance sheets online.

.Prior to this, the education department had directed all recognized private unaided schools to reschedule the last date for depositing fees and funds for the 2020-21 session. They were also asked to fix the last date at least a month in advance after reopening of school, so as not to inconvenience parents. They were also told they could not charge for late fees.

Despite several directives to the schools, many of them demanded fees from parents. After which, the education department has invoked the Punjab Fees Regulation Act, 2016, and ordered them to upload their balance sheets online.

Furthermore, ISA and seven other petitioners (schools) challenged the UT’s directive on fee deferment in the Punjab and Haryana High Court. In compliance with orders of the HC, a hearing was granted by education secretary Arun Kumar Gupta to private schools, following which these orders were issued.

As per the order, schools can not stop payment of monthly salary nor reduce the existing total emolument of teaching and non-teaching staff.

The order also stated that if any parent is unable to pay the fees on time, then the concerned school will consider their request on a case to case basis.

“However, neither the name of any student is to be struck off, nor is the student to be deprived of online teaching on this account, during lockdown period,” reads the order.

The schools have been directed to only collect monthly tuition fees by the 15th day of every month from June 2020 onward. The fees for April and May is to be collected by May 31, 2020. No late fee is to be charged up to May 31, 2020.

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